Dublin deserted as coronavirus dampens St. Patrick's Day

Yahoo – AFP, Joe STENSON, March 17, 2020

St Patrick's Day celebrations were cancelled over the virus (AFP Photo/Paul Faith)

Dublin (AFP) - Pubs were shuttered and pints left unpoured on St. Patrick's Day in Dublin Tuesday, as the Irish capital swapped its annual riot of celebration for "social distancing" designed to stem the spread of coronavirus.

The cobbled streets of Temple Bar -- usually the epicentre of celebrations -- were deserted.

"This place would be just swarming with people, the whole town would be," said Dubliner Anthony Whyte.

"It's like a ghost town. It's like armageddon," the 49-year-old told AFP.

Last week, Ireland's government cancelled St Patrick's parades nationwide, asked pubs to close and curbed gatherings of more than 100 individuals until March 29.

"Social distancing" -- remaining apart from others in public -- has also been strongly advised.

"On a day like St. Patrick's Day, you can really feel it," said Justin Sinnott, 44, strolling through abandoned streets with his young son on his shoulders.

Two people have died from coronavirus in Ireland, which has 223 confirmed cases so far.

Prime minister Leo Varadkar said he expected 15,000 cases in the country by the end of March.

Lost jobs

In central Dublin, St Patrick's Day decorations featuring brimming pints of Guinness, leprechauns and pots of gold found no customers to tempt.

In one open corner shop, staff wore face masks.

"Coronavirus/COVID-19 -- we are closed. Government + HSE (health service) advice," read a handwritten sign on one of the area's most popular drinking spots.

While most Irish citizens have lost a night on the town, others have felt the blow more dearly.

State broadcaster RTE estimated 140,000 hospitality and childcare workers have been laid off over government coronavirus measures.

"We're preparing for the worst," said tourism transport worker John Gately, cycling through central Dublin wearing protective blue rubber gloves.

The 30-year-old has not yet joined those laid off as a result of the coronavirus.

"It's a case of just battening down the hatches and trying to recover," he said. "This is totally unprecedented in my lifetime.

"I'm kind of fascinated and terrified at the same time -- it's like being in a horror movie and we're just waiting to see what happens next week."

Tourist attraction

Last year an estimated 500,000 people attended Dublin's St Patrick's festival. Irish media reported around 100,000 attendees were overseas visitors.

But with pubs closed and various foreign governments banning flights from European nations, many tourists had already begun to filter home.

Some US travellers had brought forward their flights home before Washington's travel ban on European countries was extended to include Ireland and the UK from 0400 GMT Tuesday.

"It just escalated so quickly in the last several days," Travis Mino told AFP at Dublin Airport as he prepared to board a flight to Washington.

Others were determined to soldier on with efforts to celebrate Ireland's patron saint on Tuesday.

"Strange times," said cheerful Russian tourist Aleksei Vishtibeev, sporting a shamrock green novelty leprechaun hat and a fake ginger beard.

"No parade, no holiday. But a holiday is in the head and in the heart, not only in the street."

"I'm ready and going on my single parade," the 45-year old said before setting off on a solo route around the eerie streets of the capital.

Spanish king distances himself from scandal-hit father

Yahoo – AFP, March 15, 2020

Juan Carlos handed over power to his son, Felipe in 2014 (AFP Photo/Juanjo Martín)

Madrid (AFP) - King Felipe VI of Spain moved Sunday to distance himself from his scandal-hit father, stripping him of his palace allowance and renouncing what he was due to inherit from him.

A statement from the palace announced that he had stripped the former king Juan Carlos, of his allowance and was himself renouncing what he was due to inherit from him.

The announcement came after media reports that Juan Carlos had received 100 million dollars (90 million euros) from Saudi Arabia via an offshore account -- and that King Felipe himself was also a beneficiary.

The money was lodged in a Swiss bank account in the name of a Panamanian foundation.

In the palace statement, the reigning king said that in April he had made it clear to a notary that he would accept no money from the foundation in question.

He also that he had absolutely no knowledge of having been named as a beneficiary to another foundation, which according to press reports paid millions of euros towards his father's flights in private jets.

On Tuesday, the Spanish parliament decided against launching an investigation into suspected money laundering by the former king Juan Carlos.

Reported Saudi payments to ex-king

Spain's hard-left Podemos party had called for it after reports earlier this month that in 2008 Juan Carlos received $100 million from Saudi king Abdallah via the Swiss account of an entity listed in Panama.

The Swiss daily Tribune de Geneve added that in 2012, $65 million of that sum was given by the king to his former mistress, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein.

Then a report in Britain's Daily Telegraph said that 52-year-old King Felipe was also a beneficiary of the fund, which it said had been set up when Juan Carlos was still on the throne.

Juan Carlos, now 82, came to the throne after the death of the military dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 and is widely respected for having favoured a transition to democracy.

But he lost his immunity from prosecution after handing power to his son, Felipe, in June 2014 following a 39-year reign.

He resigned from public life last year after a series of scandals about his private life.

In 2012, he outraged Spaniards by going elephant hunting in Botswana at the height of the country's recession.

Spanish reports say Juan Carlos has until now received an annual allowance from the state of more than 194,000 euros.

Netherlands cuts pope flower display over coronavirus

Yahoo – AFP, March 11, 2020

For the past 35 years, Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican has been decked out
with tulips, daffodils, roses or orchids donated by the Netherlands (AFP Photo/
Vincenzo PINTO)

The Hague (AFP) - The Netherlands will this year break a long tradition of supplying the flowers for the pope's Easter address because of the coronavirus outbreak, if it goes ahead at all, organisers said Wednesday.

For the past 35 years, Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican has been decked out with tulips, daffodils, roses or orchids donated by the Netherlands, one of the world's biggest hubs for cut flowers.

"The developments around coronavirus in Italy are very serious. In consultation with all concerned parties, it has been decided to cancel the floral decorations for Saint Peter's Square this year," Paul Deckers, the florist in charge of the project, said on Twitter.

Last year, the Easter Sunday address by Pope Francis drew some 70,000 people to the Vatican, which is in the centre of the Italian capital Rome.

However, Italy is now under national lockdown after becoming the epicentre of the European virus outbreak with 631 deaths so far.

"It's the first time we haven't done it," Deckers told NOS public radio, adding that it was possible the address could be cancelled altogether.

Greta Thunberg tells EU to stop 'pretending' on climate

Yahoo – AFP, March 4, 2020

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg said that despite "disregarding" science, the EU
was hoping its climate plan "will somehow solve the biggest crisis humanity has
ever faced" (AFP Photo/KENZO TRIBOUILLARD)

Brussels (AFP) - Teenage eco-warrior Greta Thunberg branded the EU's grand plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 inadequate on Wednesday and said Europe is falsely claiming to lead the world on climate.

The European Union must stop "pretending that you can be a climate leader and still go on building and subsidising new fossil fuel infrastructure," the Swedish activist told a committee hearing at the European Parliament.

Thunberg was addressing MEPs as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new draft law that Brussels has hailed as the cornerstone of Europe's "Green Deal" to fight climate change.

The 17-year-old said that despite "disregarding" science, the EU was hoping its plan "will somehow solve the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced".

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (C) announced a new draft law 

that Brussels has hailed as the cornerstone of Europe's "Green Deal" to fight 

climate change (AFP Photo/JOHN THYS)

"This must come to an end," she said.

Earlier, Thunberg had been a guest at a meeting of top EU officials that approved a proposal to enshrine into law the EU's ambition of net zero carbon emissions by mid-century.

This would bind the EU's 27 member states to balance polluting emissions and the removal of greenhouse gases -- such as by using carbon capture technology or reforestation -- within the next 30 years.

The law, once ratified, would also give the EU executive new powers to impose emission targets on member state governments.

"When your house is on fire, you don't wait a few more years to start putting it out," said Thunberg.

"When the EU presents this climate law and net zero by 2050 you indirectly admit surrender, that you are giving up," she said.

Germany's under-fire Catholic Church seeks new leader

Yahoo – AFP, Isabelle LE PAGE, March 2, 2020

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Archbishop of Munich, says he will not seek another term
as head of the German Bishops' Conference (AFP Photo/Daniel ROLAND)

Berlin (AFP) - German bishops began key talks on Monday to choose a new leader to steer the country's Catholic Church through a controversial reforms process and settle compensation demands from sexual abuse victims.

The four-day episcopal gathering in the western city of Mainz comes at a time of fierce debate about how to modernise Germany's Catholic Church, pitting conservative bishops against more progressive ones.

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, a driving force behind efforts to renew the under-fire Church, last month unexpectedly announced he would not seek another six-year term as head of the German Bishops' Conference, saying he was too old at 66.

The several dozen bishops attending the annual general assembly will choose his successor in a secret vote on Tuesday, although no clear frontrunner has emerged.

Besides confronting calls to relax the rules on priestly celibacy and the roles of women in the clergy, the new chairman will have to deal with the Church's sexual abuse baggage.

Stephan Ackermann, the bishop charged with addressing the historic child abuse scandal, recently said he expected a decision "in the coming months" about financial compensation for survivors.

In his opening address in Mainz, Marx said he saw an opportunity for "a very concrete proposal" to be put forward at the Bishops' Conference.

'Damage done'

More than a decade after the first abuse revelations emerged in Germany, victims are losing patience.

"There's no reason to wait any longer," the Eckiger Tisch victims' group said, calling for a resolution this year.

The group has proposed a one-off sum of around 300,000 euros ($330,000) per person, or the creation of a fund paid for by the Church but run by independent overseers.

Franz-Josef Overbeck, Bishop of Essen, is seen as a potential successor to take 

over from Reinhard Marx (AFP Photo/FRIEDRICH STARK)

Several high-ranking Church officials have rejected the proposals as too costly.

A study commissioned by the German Bishops' Conference and released in 2018 showed that 1,670 clergymen had committed some form of sexual attack against 3,677 minors, mostly boys, between 1946 and 2014.

The revelations, which mirror paedophile scandals in Australia, Chile, France, Ireland and the United States, prompted Cardinal Marx to apologise on behalf of the German Catholic Church.

The Church currently pays victims an average sum of 5,000 euros "in recognition of their suffering", as well as covering their therapy fees.

"It's not about recognition. It's about compensation for the damage that's been done to the lives of thousands of people," said Matthias Katsch from Eckiger Tisch.

Celibacy, women

At 23 million followers, the Catholic Church remains Germany's biggest religious community. But its pews are increasingly empty on Sundays and it struggles to recruit new priests.

Hoping to renew itself and regain the public's trust, the German Church recently embarked on two years of discussions tackling the institution's most controversial themes, including the child abuse crisis.

The project, known as the synodal path, will also debate whether to end celibacy and allow priests to marry, and whether women should be ordained.

Traditionalists within the Church have already voiced opposition to such changes, chief among them the influential Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne.

Critics of the reform push also say such decisions should come from the Vatican, and not from Catholic leaders in Germany.

Pope Francis last month disappointed progressives by rejecting a proposal to allow married men to become priests in remote Amazon regions, a plan meant to counter a shortage of clerics.

He also stopped short of allowing women to be ordained as deacons in the region.

Representatives from Catholic women's associations presented the bishops in Mainz on Monday with a petition calling for more gender equality in the clergy, signed by 130,000 supporters.

"We're not trying to divide the Church. We are the core of the Church," said Mechthild Heil of the Catholic Women's Association of Germany (KFD).

One of the candidates tipped as the next leader of Germany's Catholics, Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, urged the 2,000-year-old Church in a recent sermon to choose "a fresh start".

The limitations placed on women in the Church are "increasingly unacceptable" to many people, he warned, while "quite a few priests" find celibacy "a heavy burden".

Vatican opens archives on history's most controversial pope

Yahoo – AFP, Catherine MARCIANO, March 1, 2020

The mountain of documents took 14 years for Holy See archivists to prepare
for release (AFP Photo/Alberto PIZZOLI)

Vatican City (AFP) - The Vatican unseals the archives of history's most contentious popes on Monday, potentially shedding light on why Pius XII stayed silent during the extermination of six million Jews in the Holocaust.

Two hundred researchers have already requested access to the mountain of documents, made available after an inventory that took more than 14 years for Holy See archivists to complete.

Award-winning German religious historian Hubert Wolf will be in Rome on Monday, armed with six assistants and two years of funding to start exploring documents from the "private secretariat" of the late pope.

Wolf, a specialist on the relationship of Pius XII with the Nazis, is anxious to discover the notes of the his 70 ambassadors -- the pontiff's eyes and ears during his time as head of the Catholic Church between 1939 and his death in 1958.

There should also be records of urgent appeals for help from Jewish organisations, as well as his communications with the late US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The unsealed archives additionally cover a post-World War II era in which writers were censored and some priests hounded for suspected communist sympathies.

The Vatican first published the essentials covering the Holocaust four decades ago, an 11 volume work compiled by Jesuits.

But some crucial pieces are still missing, including the pope's replies to notes and letters -- for example, those about Nazi horrors.

The entrance of the Vatican Apostolic Secret Archive (AFP Photo/Alberto PIZZOLI)

The Jesuits already published "documents the pope received about the concentration camps, but we never got to see his replies," Wolf said in an interview.

"Either they do not exist, or they are in the Vatican," he told AFP.

Historians have already examined the 12 German years of Eugenio Pacelli, the future pope's real name which he used while posted there as the Holy See ambassador in 1917-1929

There, he witnessed the rise of Nazism, then returned to Rome to become the right-hand man of his predecessor Pius XI, elected in 1922.

Past archives have revealed exchanges in which he was alerted about the extermination of European Jews once he himself became the pope.

"There is no doubt that the pope was aware of the murder of Jews," Wolf said.

"What really interests us is when he learned about it for the first time, and when he believed that information."

Cryptic Christmas message

On December 24, 1942, Pius XII delivered one of history's most debated Christmas radio messages.

Buried in its long text was a reference to "hundreds of thousands of people who, without any fault of their own and sometimes for the sole reason of their nationality or race, were doomed to death or gradual extermination".

Experts expect to see records of urgent appeals for help from Jewish 

organisations in the files (AFP Photo/Alberto PIZZOLI)

Was his message -- delivered in Italian and aired just once, and which never explicitly mentioned either the Jews or Nazis -- heard and understood by German Catholics?

"The only ones who heard it were the Nazis," said Wolf, noting that the radio waves were scrambled and that the pope could have spoken German -- if he had really wanted to reach the German faithful.

"After the war, Pius XII told a British ambassador: 'I was very clear.' And the ambassador will say in reply: 'I did not understand you'," the historian said.

Those who rise to the pope's defence note that Pius XII was a former diplomat who was trained in prudence, anxious to remain neutral in time of war, and concerned about being able to shield Catholics from the unfolding devastation.

He simply could not be any more explicit, Pius XII's supporters say. Historians estimate the Church hid around 4,000 Jews in its Roman institutions during the war.

"Quite a few Jews were saved in convents," David Kertzer, an American historian who won the Pulitzer Prize for a book about the era, told AFP.

"But why were they murdered by people viewing themselves as Christians?"

For Kertzer, the reasons behind the "silence of the pope" are key.

"He wasn't happy about mass murder. He seemed upset. He knew by 1941," said Kertzer.

And yet "never uttered the word Jew".

Wolf, the German historian, added that Pius XII "remained very withdrawn after the war, saying nothing about the Holocaust".

He also never recognised the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

"Why?" Wolf asks.

UK politicians 'turned a blind eye' to child sexual abuse for decades

A report into sexual abuse against children by British politicians says that Westminster "actively shielded" suspects from investigation. One of the alleged perpetrators was the private secretary to Margaret Thatcher.

DW, 25 February 2020

Politicians Cyril Smith and David Steel in 1981 (picture-alliance/PA Wire)

British politicians turned a blind eye to the sexual abuse of children and actively covered up allegations over decades, an independent inquiry found on Tuesday.

The inquiry did not find evidence of an organized pedophile network. The inquiry examined the years between the 1960s and the 1990s.

The report found there had been "significant failures by Westminster institutions in their responses to allegations of child sexual abuse."

Read more: Child sex abuse: How long do the statutes of limitations run in the EU?

"This included failure to recognize it, turning a blind eye to it, actively shielding and protecting child sexual abusers and covering up allegations," the report's summary said.

Former Liberal leader David Steel, one of the most influential Liberal politicians of the twentieth century, announced his resignation from the centrist Liberal Democrat party and the House of Lords later on Tuesday. Steel was condemned in the report for failing to act despite knowing about cases of child sexual abuse.

Margaret Thatcher was among those who turned a blind eye to allegations
of child sexual abuse

Politicians 'protected from prosecution'

The 173-page report named several members of parliament, including Peter Morrison and Cyril Smith as being "known or rumored to be active in their sexual interest in children and were protected from prosecution in a number of ways."

Morrison was the private secretary to Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister in the 1980s.

The report highlighted that Thatcher was aware of Morrison having a "penchant for small boys" but did nothing about it. Similarly, David Steel was aware that Cyril Smith was a serial sex offender but did nothing about it, later recommending him for a knighthood.

The inquiry also found that the police knew enough to prosecute Smith in the 1970s, but were thwarted by senior policemen who thought such a move would be "too political."

Inquiry continues

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) was set up in 2017 and is expected to take five years to be completed.

The inquiry is one of the largest and most expensive ever undertaken in Britain. The Westminster investigation is one of several investigations underway.

“We hope this report and its recommendations will lead political institutions to prioritize the needs and safety of vulnerable children," said Chair Alexis Jay

EU envoys meet to seal Brexit talks red lines

Yahoo – AFP, Alex PIGMAN, February 24, 2020

France is leading a small group of countries demanding that European vessels maintain
open access to British waters that are particularly rich in fish stocks (AFP Photo/William
EDWARDS)

Brussels (AFP) - EU envoys meet on Monday to finalise a negotiating mandate for Brexit trade talks with Britain, with France insisting on strict red lines to uphold European standards.

Establishing the foundation for new ties with Britain is the next chapter in the Brexit saga, with signs pointing to several months of acrimonious talks between London and Brussels with the outcome highly uncertain.

Britain left the European Union on January 31, but entered a transition phase until the end of the year to give time to hammer out a new basis for relations on trade, security and defence.

But there are doubts the two sides will bridge their differences in that time, with French President Emmanuel Macron warning at the weekend he was "not sure" a deal would be struck by the end of December.

Trade will be the biggest flashpoint, with the remaining 27 EU countries especially nervous that Britain will backslide on standards to win a competitive edge against European businesses.

Fishing is also a hot-button issue, with France leading a small group of countries demanding that European vessels maintain open access to British waters that are particularly rich in fish stocks.

The EU envoys meet at around 1400 GMT and if they find common ground, the matter will then go to a meeting of European affairs ministers on Tuesday, whose final green light would open the way for talks with the UK to start on March 2.

'The whole point'

Recent days have shown that tetchy talks lie ahead, with Britain insisting it is no longer chasing a deep partnership with Europe that would require matching EU rules on health, labour standards, environment and other matters.

Instead, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is asking for a simplified deal similar to those the EU has struck with Canada, Japan and South Korea that reduce tariff barriers to near zero, but which have less strict controls on standards.

Bringing that point home to Europe, in a speech in Brussels last week, Britain's chief Brexit negotiator David Frost said his government's desire to throw off EU regulations was not just a negotiating position but "the point of the whole (Brexit) project".

"We must have the ability to set laws that suit us -- to claim the right that every other non-EU country in the world has," Frost said.

Even a "no deal", with its heavy implications for the economy, does not seem to frighten London, casting deep uncertainty in the forthcoming negotiations of barely 10 three-week rounds of talks.

The European side is annoyed and to some measure suspicious of the change of heart, especially since British Prime Minister signed a political declaration in October that called for an ambitious partnership.

The negotiating mandate under consideration was first proposed by the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier with bloc member states inserting their changes over the past few weeks.

In drafts seen by AFP, language on fishing and on upholding norms -- known as maintaining the "level playing field" -- have been toughened up, which EU sources said came at the insistence of Paris.

Some member states have added language on issues close to them, including a call that Britain must "return unlawfully removed cultural objects to their country of origin", a problem dear to Greece, Italy and Cyprus.

Stefaan de Rynck, a senior adviser to Barnier, warned last week that the next few months of talks could be even tougher than the divorce negotiations that formally ended Britain's 47-year membership of the EU.

"We expect some of the negotiations to be rather difficult, perhaps more difficult than during the withdrawal," de Rynck told an audience at the London School of Economics.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian put it even more vivdly, predicting the two sides would "rip each other apart".

London has until the end of June to ask for a deadline extension should the talks fail to make any headway in the coming months.

But Johnson has ruled out asking for more time, a stance that raises the prospects of a "no deal" or only a bare-bones deal which could also bring major disruption.

Macron says 'not sure' EU-UK trade deal possible before end of 2020

Yahoo - AFP, February 23, 2020

French President Emmanuel Macron said that trade negotiations between the
European Union and Britain will "become more tense" (AFP Photo/Ludovic Marin)

Paris (AFP) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said he was "not sure" it would be possible for the European Union and Britain to reach a trade deal by the end of the year.

Britain and the EU are about to embark on negotiations aiming to hammer out a trade agreement by the time the post-Brexit transition period shuts at the end of December.

But France has made clear it thinks the negotiations will be particularly difficult, especially in such a tight timeframe.

"I am not sure that an agreement will be reached between now and the end of the year," Macron said at a meeting with fishermen, who are concerned for their livelihoods after Brexit, at an agricultrual trade event in Paris.

"Anyway, it is going to become more tense because (the British) are very hard," he said, adding that fishing rights would be a key point of contention.

Britain formally ended its 47-year membership of the EU on January 31, nearly four years after a majority voted to leave the bloc in a 2016 referendum.

France and several other countries want to be able to keep fishing in British waters, while London wants full autonomy and limited access for European fishermen.

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the EU's top priorities are fishing, security and maintaining fair trading conditions for European companies.

He has also firmly rejected a British suggestion that City of London companies could be given broad, permanent access to EU markets without conditions.

Overall, French fishing boats generate 30 percent of their revenue from catches in British maritime territories, particularly rich in fish stocks.

French officials say that the UK exports the bulk of its catch to Europe, indicating that British fishermen have plenty to lose if the two sides fail to reach a deal.

Germany's minimum wage spurred productivity, but hit small firms

The measure has helped boost productivity and reduce pay gaps since it was first rolled out across Germany five years ago, according to a study. But it has also forced some small companies to close down.

DW, 18 February 2020

Person doing dishes (picture-alliance/dpa/P. Seeger)

The introduction of a nationwide minimum wage in Germany has spurred a growth in worker productivity, according to a study published Tuesday.

The government in Berlin first established a minimum wage in 2015, requiring firms to pay their employees €8.50 ($9.20) per hour. At the time, around 15% of the German workforce was earning less than that amount.

Research by University College London (UCL) and the German Institute for Labor Market Research (AIB) found that the change did not result in higher joblessness among low-wage workers — one of the fears before the policy was rolled out.

"Contrary to concerns that marked the debate before the national minimum wage was introduced, we did not find that it led to a reduction in employment," UCL researcher Christian Dustmann said in a statement.

Instead, their analysis showed that lower-paid employees moved to bigger firms, where more full-time jobs requiring better qualifications were on offer.

"The minimum wage increased productivity by redistributing workers from less productive to more productive companies," Dustmann said. The average size of companies grew, as did the average number of workers at bigger firms.

Read more: EU launches 'fair minimum wage' initiative

Smaller businesses exit the market

The nationwide standard helped decrease pay gaps across regions, the study found. However, it also forced the closure of some small businesses — those with three or fewer staff — in areas that had the lowest pre-2015 average pay.

Since 2015, the minimum wage has grown from €8.50 to €9.35, and is set to be revised again next year.

It was introduced at a time when the German economy was enjoying a long period of growth, with unemployment at its lowest level in 25 years. Dustmann warned that for that reason the study's findings "do not necessarily generalize to other labor markets, or other time periods."

Switzerland votes for law against homophobia

Yahoo – AFP, Dario THUBURN, February 9, 2020

Off-colour jokes are still OK (AFP Photo/Fabrice COFFRINI)

Geneva (AFP) - Switzerland on Sunday voted strongly in favour of a new law against homophobia in a referendum in the face of strong opposition from the populist rightwing Swiss People's Party (SVP).

Final results showed 63 percent voted in favour of widening existing laws against discrimination on ethnic or religious grounds to include sexual orientation.

"This is a historic day," Mathias Reynard, a lawmaker from the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland who initiated the reform, told Swiss channel RTS 1.

"It gives a signal which is magnificent for everyone and for anyone who has been a victim of discrimination," he said.

With results in from all of Switzerland's cantons, the figures showed that the highest approval rate was in Geneva with 76 percent, while the rural cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Schwyz and Uri voted against.

The change was passed by the Swiss parliament in 2018 but critics, who believe it will end up censoring free speech, forced a referendum on the issue.

'Christian values'

Eric Bertinat, an opposition SVP local lawmaker in Geneva, told AFP before the vote that he believed the law was "part of an LGBT plan to slowly move towards same-sex marriage and medically assisted reproduction" for gay couples.

Hans Moser, head of the small Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland (EDU) party, told the ATS news agency: "We will continue to represent Christian values".

All of Switzerland's major parties except the SVP, the biggest political force in parliament, support the law.

Switzerland is one of the last countries in western Europe without specific laws against homophobia.

Rights campaigner Jean-Pierre Sigrist, founder of an association of gay teachers, said before the referendum that the new law might have stopped him getting beaten up outside a bar in Geneva four decades ago.

"And maybe I would not have been laughed at when I went to the police," the 71-year-old told AFP, adding that he hoped the reform would help to counter a resurgence of intolerance against gay people.

Sigrist said he supported freedom of expression, "but not the freedom to say anything at all".

'No to Special Rights!'

Under the new law, homophobic comments made in a family setting or among friends would not be criminalised.

But publicly denigrating or discriminating against someone for being gay or inciting hatred against that person in text, speech, images or gestures, would be banned.

The government has said it will still be possible to have opinionated debates on issues such as same-sex marriage, and the new law does not ban jokes -- however off-colour.

"Incitement to hatred needs to reach a certain level of intensity in order to be considered criminal in Switzerland," Alexandre Curchod, a media lawyer, told AFP.

But he admitted that there could be exceptions "if it can be shown that, under the cover of artistic production or joking, someone is in fact engaging in incitement".

Gay rights campaigners were divided over the legislation.

A group called "No to Special Rights!" is opposed, arguing that the gay community does not need special protection.